In Aora Dak village, Homa Bay County (Kenya), Antonita Odira, a 45-year-old mother of eight, has transformed her life through sustainable farming. With her husband, a carpenter, she worked hard to provide for their family, but her previous job as a vegetable vendor was unstable. She often traveled to markets like Sori, only to find that vegetables were unavailable, leaving her without income.
A Life-Changing Opportunity
In February 2024, Antonita joined the Soko Genga group, part of the Development in Gardening (DIG) Field School. Under facilitator Sarah Obonyo, she learned sustainable farming techniques, including raised beds, compost manure, and natural homemade pesticides using soap, garlic, onions, pepper, aloe vera, charcoal ash, and cow dung.
Armed with this knowledge, Antonita began growing spinach, kales, black nightshade, carrots, onions, capsicum, and cilantro. She soon focused on kales and cilantro for income generation.
From Struggles to Success
Today, Antonita’s farm flourishes, even in dry seasons, due to raised beds measuring 1.5m by 6m. A 250g batch of cilantro seeds fills nine beds, yielding up to 7,000 shillings, while 50g can earn her 2,000 shillings. Selling at the farm gate and in markets like Sori and Ndhiwa has provided her with a stable income.
Her financial stability allows her to pay her children’s school fees, ensuring a better future. “Mum has been able to support our education through her vegetable sales,” says her son Meshack. “I want to follow her example.”
Author: Elector Arua
I am a licensed nutritionist practitioner with Kenya nutrition and Dietetics Institute , currently serving at Development in Gardening as a nutritionist and Monitoring and Evaluation specialist and also as a project officer- priority household program. Focused on food security, climate change, financial resilience, nutrition and health, social cohesion, committed to enhancing community health.
